Unexpected punishment
by Spitfire303
Summary: Just read it and see what it is about. I can't work out what to write without wrecking it. It will only take a few minutes, go-on you know you want to read it :-) enjoy! Secret santa for cmol8806, hope you enjoy it. one-shot


This is a secret Santa for cmol8806 she requested the Characters Christine and Michael, Parker (all at any age); it had to have humour (I tried, I think I failed ) and a misunderstanding by the parents. This wasn't my first idea but when I started writing, it was what came out. So I hope it is okay

In this Parker is 26, Christine 16 and Michael is 17. Enjoy

Disclaimer: I may own a monkey called Benji who wears dungarees (he is a toy) but I sadly do not own Bones :'(

The streetlight filtering through the curtains lit up the room. Christine lay gazing at the roof; she knew she wasn't going to get any more sleep tonight. Her desire to know the time overcame the pain that movement cause. The room span as she rolled over. Christine stared at the clock, her eyes blurry with sleep. "Uggh". It was only 6:30am, far too early to be considered a decent hour. Pushing herself into a sitting position, she surveyed the room. From the pictures of motorcycles on the walls it was obvious that she wasn't at home. So where was she? Her head thumped as she attempted to stand. Collapsing back onto the bed, she tried to figure out where and why she was here? The where was easy she was in Michael's bedroom. She had spent enough time here growing up. It was almost her second home. Now the why, the last thing she could remember was… arguing with her parents.

"_You're too young; we can't allow you to go to that party. What if you get hurt? We would feel responsible." Booth reasoned. Christine crossed her arms, she knew that she was acting like a child but it wasn't fair. "You would let me go there any other night, so why is this one different?" Booth sighed, he was sick of explaining it. "Because" he drawled, "any other night his parents would be there." "But they are letting him have the party." She argued. "It's not about that". Booth said. "Then what is it about? Don't you trust my judgement; I'm 16 for Christ sake. I'M NOT A LITTLE GIRL ANYMORE." Christine screamed. "Well, you certainly are acting like it." He retorted. _

_Father and daughter stood face to face, neither one giving an inch. Brennan standing nearby, watched cautious of the war being waged in front of her. "Ohhh somebodies in trouble, somebodies in trouble." sang her little brother, Thom. "Yeah, you Thomas, if you don't get out of here. NOW!" Christine yelled. "Stop yelling at your brother." Booth ordered. "Aye aye captain." Christine saluted, her face showing her loathing of him. "See ya later, alligator, so don't forget toilet paper." Thom yelled as he left the room. "How old are you? Christine asked. "Seven, act your age." "We could tell you the same thing." Booth pointed out. Just before left the house, he paused and screamed "See you in a while, crocodile". He swung the door shut. He grinned, entertained at the sound of the groans for his sister. Christine was furious, her family was intolerable. They were condescending and immature, the whole lot of them._

_Brennan's rational side told her it was time to step in. "Do not talk to your father like that." Christine gulped, the fact her mother had joined in meant she had stepped too far. She was no longer just in trouble, she was in deep shit. "You want us to trust you, but then you go and act like a 5 year old. I agree with your father, you are not going to that party." Brennan continued. "That's not fair." Christine protested. "You never let me have any fun." "Try being rational, this is not the end of the world." "It's only the death of my social life, nothing serious." She bawled. Brennan tried to calm her daughter down. "Life will continue and…." "Just because you didn't have a social life, mum. It doesn't mean I can't have one." Christine interrupted. "Anyway you're the one who is always going on about anthropological meaning in social gatherings of youth and how it is an important stepping stone in growing up, so let me grow up." _

_Seeing that this was getting nowhere she changed tactics. "Please Daddy, let me go. It is only at Michael's house and it just a few of his closest friends are going to be there celebrating his 17__th__. You can say that you never went to a party and had fun. So why are you stopping me?" She was actually managing to make him feel bad, but he reminded himself it was for her good. "Exactly I went to parties and because of that I know what happens at them. You are too young, Christine." He reached forward and tried to hold his daughter but she pulled away. Sighing, Booth paused. His face showing the conflicting emotions within . "But…" Christine tried. "No buts and I am sure your mother will agree with me on this" He looked over at his wife, who nodded in agreement. "That from now until further notice you are grounded." "I hate you, I fucking hate you." Christine screamed. "I am doing this for your own good." Booth warned. "You are all fucking hypocrites. It alright you to have had a life but..." "Christine Angela Booth, get to your bedroom NOW! You will not talk to me or your father like that." Brennan whispered. It echoed through the now silent room. Tears began to trail down Christine's face. "Fuck you! Fuck you all, I hope you died in hell." Then she turned around and stormed out slamming every door between the living room and hers. Brennan grabbed Booths hand preventing him from following. "No let her go." she murmured. "Let her cool down, we can punish her later." _

But that still didn't explain why she was here.The pounding in her head had subsided enough for her to risk another attempt at standing. Pushing herself slowly off the bed, Christine got her first proper look at the room. It was messy just like the other times she had been here, but now amongst the clutter there laid beer and other bottles. The clothes she was wearing were encrusted with blood and vomit. If she was going to get home un-noticed, because she was now sure she shouldn't be there, she would have to get rid of them. After peeling off the putrid mess, she stumbled over to his chest of draws and took the first t-shirt out. It was much too large but it was better than her top. Christine looked at her pants they weren't too bad and all of Michael's jeans would be too big, so they would have to do.

She grimace at the thought of what would happen if Auntie Angie came across her top, she would tell her parents and they would either figure out that she had gone to the party or they would get the wrong idea about Michael and her, either way they would have a fit. She would be lucky if she saw the sun again before she was an old lady. If she lived that long, as when your father is head of the major crimes division, the case could be buried under other cases for decades. That's if there was a body found, she thought ruefully. Mother could just get it to such a point of decay that it would fit right into limbo, hidden down the back and remain untouched for centuries. So with these pleasing thoughts in her head, she wedged her top under the loose floor board only she and Michael knew about.

Christine decided that the best idea would be to head straight home and hope that they hadn't checked her room yet. As she headed for the door, the room spun and she found herself sprinting to the en-suite. Holding on to the edge of bath, the entire contents of her stomach re-appeared. After waiting at the edge of the bath, to make sure she was finished, she cleaned up the bathroom and then she headed for the door, leaving the bedroom, climbing a body that lay sprawled in the doorway.

After stopping to make sure they were still breathing, she surveyed the landing. It was trashed and from looking out window the mess continued into the yard; they were going to have issues getting it cleaned up before the parents got home. For intents and purposes it looked like it had been an epic party. Too bad she couldn't remember any of it. Her head was still killing her, so she headed to the kitchen; clambering over people who lay slumped across stairwell, unconscious. Christine rummaged through the cupboards, looking for some Panadol.

"Hey there gorgeous, how's the head?" she spun round, nearly falling over, in surprise. "I feel like hell, Michael. I swear I am never drinking again." Michael's face broke into a smile at the conviction in her voice. "Sure you're not. I bet your resolution will last until the next party." Christine rolled her eyes, instantly regretting it, due to the pain the erupted across her forehead. "Honestly, if I never drink again, it will be too soon." He shook his head laughing as he left the kitchen. "Whatever you say, Chris… whatever you say." Pausing at the door, he smiled. "Ohh… by the way Panadol's in the top right cupboard, the one above the fridge." Christine smiled gratefully; after all he was her best-friend. Grabbing the stool she moved over to the fridge, wincing as Michael slammed the door. She heard him laughing, as he imagined her pain; Christine sighed, would he ever grow up.

After taking the Panadol's, she decided it was too far to be walking home. The time it would take alone, would increase the likelihood of being caught and not to mention the pain her head was causing her would make it unbearable, she just wanted to be at home. Christine reckoned she could convince her parents that it was the 'flu', that was going around. From what she could remember of the night before, her ride here wouldn't be willing to take her home. Something to with coming on to her when she wasn't interested and ending up with them in the side of the glasshouse. Christine grimaced at the memory, hoping that they forgot about it in their hangover haze, she really didn't want that going round. And plus, she kind of liked them, when they were sober. She sighed, no use worrying about it now, she might not even see them again if she didn't get home. She looked at the clock, 6:50am, she still had time. As long as her parent's 'schedule' stayed the same. Christine shuddered that thought was disturbing.

She pulled out her phone from her jacket, which was still hanging in the hallway. She fingered it, unsure if she should call Parker, but he had said that she should if she was ever unsure or needed help because she was in trouble. He made her promise because he knew that Mum and Dad would freak, despite what they said about being cool and that they would come get her from anywhere. Christine knew that they were really just the absolute last option, even Cam and Sweets where higher on that list. Finally decided, she called parker. As the phone rang Christine prayed that he would pick up.

"Hello, Parker Booth speaking… how may I help you?" "Hey Parks, you know how you said if I ever needed something to call you and you would do what you can to help. You remember that right?" Christine felt so relieved that he picked up, that she was rambling a little. "Yeah I remember. So how can I help? Wait you not in jail are you? If you are you really better called dad he will be much better at getting you out and…" "PARKER! Slow down there, man. I am NOT in jail, at least not yet." She was nearly laughing the irrational leaps his brain had made. "Okay…" Christine could hear the relief in his voice. "It just was that, when I made you, promise me that you would call me if you ever needed anything. I remember that you said that, you would only call if you were in jail and needed busting out." Christine smiled she remembered that day, she was so adamantly sure that she wouldn't get into trouble, but Parker being 11 years older had been wiser and had convinced her to agree on the terms that he would otherwise destroy her Barbie dolls.

"So what do you need, sis?" "Uhhh… well… hmmm… I sort of… kind of… snuck out last night to Michael's 17th and now sort of… kind of… need a ride back, before Mum and Dad get up, cause I'm sort of…. kind of… grounded." Christine mumbled. "Well, well, well… the good child finally messed up." His cheerful voice echoed through the phone. "Parker, you are taking too much glee in misery." Christine announced. "Yeah, well I spend most of high school being either scolded by you or being compared to how good you were. So let me have my fun." Parker explained. "Okay, you've had your fun. Now will you help me?" She asked. "Yeah sure, I did promise." Parker paused, thinking things over. "I'm guessing your had alcohol, so you're not in a great state. So how about I take you home, you sneak in grab a fresh set of clothes, write a note saying your with me for the day. Then we will get you cleaned up and hangover free. You will still be in trouble, as you're grounded but less than you would have been by being at that party." "Sounds like a plan, thank you soooo very, very, much Parkessy." Parker rolled his eyes at her tone. "Be there in 5, okay?" She smiled he hadn't even flinched. "Yeah, see you then."

The phone went dead, but Christine was relieved maybe things would be alright after all. Her big brother was coming and he was her protector. He looked after when kids were mean and stopped her from getting into big trouble on many occasions. He would make things alright. Even with that weight off her mind, the next 5 minutes still took for ever to come around, as every single possible scenario rushed through her mind. When Parker finally turned up Christine breathed a deep sigh of relief, she was on the home straight. There was a possibility that she might get away with it. 

The car ride to her house was tense, the silence was remaining unbroken. They were almost holding their breath, as they pulled in to the drive. Both praying that their parents were still in bed and Thom preoccupied with the T.V, otherwise he would tell. He loved getting her in trouble, there was no love lost between them. It had had simply never existed. They had never shared toys, they were simply his or hers. No-one had understood that, all their kids fought but at the end of the day, they still looked out for each other. The car ride came to an abrupt stop, drawing Christine out of her thoughts. "Hey, I wait for you here okay?" Parker looked at Christine, her face pale. "Yeah, I be quick." She nodded, chewing her lip. "Good luck." Parker whispered as she climbed out of the car watching attempt to gather her nerves. "You're going to need it." he finished as the door closed.

Christine slithered slowly up the drive. She stopped at the kitchen door and praying that no-one was in the kitchen, she reached out and grabbed the door knob with her shaking hand. Christine paused taking a depth breath, before she carefully opened the door. When she heard the sound of the morning cartoons, she smiled. Her parents weren't up and Thomas, he would be fully absorbed in his cartoons for a while. Christine sneaked through the kitchen, across hallway and snuck up the stairs to her room. Up there she quickly grabbed some clean clothes and then rushed out of the house, only just remembering to write the note saying she was going to be out with Parker. Then she quietly slipped out of the kitchen, onto the drive and the sprinted to the car, hitting the garden fence in her hurry. Yanking the door open and hurling her things inside. Once she was semi-seated in the car, she shouted at Parker "Drive, Drive, Drive." He groaned at being ordered around by his little sister but did as told. Christine let out a sigh once the car started moving but only truly relaxed once the house was around the corner, out of sight. It seemed she had gotten away with it, that she would be okay. It seemed she would live to see another day and that she wouldn't be buried in the depths of limbo, to remain unknown for the rest of all eternity.

The rest of the day was fun as she enjoyed her last day of freedom, for a while. As although Christine had dodged the bullet for sneaking out, she was still in fact grounded and would be in trouble for leaving the house. Her mum had rang them once to make sure she was there and had told her that they needed to have a chat when she got home. But other than that ominous message, the rest of the day passed in a mixture of sleep and movies. It was had been fun but now she was facing the dark doorway of the house, all the fear of this morning came flooding back. It was fully possible that they had seen her leave or that Thomas had seen her and told. Christine sighed; there was nothing she could do. It was time to face the music.

Upon entering the house, she was confronted with her parents standing in the lounge doorway. "Good Afternoon, Christine. Did you have a fun day?" Brennan asked warmly, walking forward and enveloping her daughter a hug. "Yeah, it was fun me and Parker just chilled around the house and watched some of his movies." Christine replied, surprised by the warm welcome. Pulling away from her mother, she looked over at her father who was still leaning against the door frame. The scowl on his face was much more the greeting that she had expected. "So, you had something that you wanted to talk to me about?" Christine asked, immediately regretting it as her mother's face darkened. "How about we sit down in the lounge for this?" Brennan decided. Christine gulped as her parents lead the way to the lounge, they definitely knew something.

Silence followed in the moments after they were seated. Christine sat opposite her parents and unable to control her nervousness, she played with the edge of the cushion beside her. Her mother looked over at her and gave what seemed to be an attempt at a reassuring smile. The silence continued as no-one really wanted to start, in case it turned into a repeat of yesterday. Eventually though Booth coughed, bringing them all back into the present and out of their thoughts. Brennan sighed; she could tell that no-one else was going to start.

"Okay Christine this is about your punishment for yesterday." She began. "Yeah I am truly sorry for my behaviour last night" Christine interpreted. Brennan. "And despite fact you acted childish, arguing with your father, you did have a good point. We do have to begin to trust you and your judgements, as you are not a little girl anymore." Brennan paused, gathering her thoughts. Christine was shocked; this was not what she had been expecting. After looking over at her husband, who scowl was still wider than the Pacific Ocean, she continued "It was also true what you said about it being important part of a child's development into an adult." Christine bristled at being called a child but held her tongue as she knew where her mother was coming from. "And I am proud of you for not going to that party and respecting our boundaries. That behaviour showed real maturity and…" "So, I won't get punished?" Christine interjected hopefully, a cheeky grin on her face. Brennan shook her head, smiling. "Not so quick, you're still in trouble. Just not as much and it is helped you respecting our rules last night. So we agreed that you will be ground for six weeks, the first two without your phone or the internet except for school work for the argument, then the next four with extra chores but you will be allowed out until 11 o'clock on weekends during it. Okay?" Christine knew it was a bit severe for what they thought she had done, but was willing to let it go. It was only two weeks of lock-down verse the lifetime it could have been. She nodded, putting a suitably solemn look on her face. "Good than it is settled, your grounding begins from tomorrow." Happy that it was dealt with Brennan, stood up and walked out briskly.

Booth remained sitting there, staring at the floor. Christine shuffled over beside him. "Hey Dad, I'm sorry about what I said last night; I didn't mean it." She paused examining his mocking expression. "I love you. I am really sorry, dad." Christine continued. "But I see nothing will convince you, so yeah…" She finished softly. After one last look at him, she stood up to leave; only to be tackled back on to the couch buy Booth. The smile on his face was one of mischief. "I believe you, you were mad and said things you shouldn't have but I can see you're sorry, so I forgive you and plus I have done much worse in my time." She smiled glad to know that they were okay again. She pushed him off her and stood up. "Since I am grounded, I might as well get a head start on my history paper." Christine decided. Booth nodded. "This grounding might be good for you." Christine rolled her eyes. "Never." Booth smiled she was so like him at that age.

On the way out of the lounge, Christine rubbed her hip. "Hey, is your hip okay?" Booth asked. "It looked like you hit it pretty hard this morning." Christine paled. "Wwhat?" She stuttered. He smirked, he liked getting the better of her; it happened rarely these days. "Your hip. Is it okay?" Booth responded, tipping his head in question. Christine was shocked; she wasn't sure how to reply. "Yah… yeah, my hip is fine but if you know…" "Why aren't you eternally grounded?" Booth finished. "Well, yes. I would have thought…" She started asking him. "…That I would punish you more." Booth interrupted her again. His grin sent shivers down Christine's spine. "Ah, but _I_ haven't punished you yet." He paused, waiting for the words to sink in. She grimaced; she saw where this was going. Upon seeing the realisation in her eyes, he continued. "I will guess that you don't want your mother finding out so…" "Blackmail." She whispered in shock. "You know that illegal, right?" Booth smiled coolly. "Okay then, I will just tell Mum that you snuck out last night. How long do you want to be grounded? 15? 20? 100 years?" Christine glared at him, the threat hung in the air between them.

Christine nodded, agreeing to his punishment. "I now see where Thomas gets it from." She smiled admiring his skill. He had found the perfect revenge for her behaviour, with the add bonus of cheap, _willing_ labour. Booth's face became serious. "I thought you were going to start with your history assignment." She groaned and rolled her eyes, as she headed out the door; a voice in her head cried; 'And now it begins!' As she left, Booth smirked. This was going to be fun, he had a little subservient slave and the best part was it had only just begun.

Okay with this being my first bones fic, I hope it went okay and if you find some mistakes, please tell me so I can fix them and if this doesn't quite meet your expectations of a your prompt, I apologise but I hope you liked it all the same.

Anyway I had fun writing this and hope that it is enjoyed by all of you people, especially cmol8806. Leave comments on what you thought and how I can improve and finally I just want to wish you all a Merry Christmas and a very Happy New Year and may it be filled with plenty of cheer (or it without any fear or plenty of beer? I am not sure.) But whatever the song says Have a good time and continue enjoying Bones.


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